Monitoring and assessing civilian harm from airpower-dominated international military actions. Seeking transparency and accountability from belligerents, and advocating on behalf of affected non-combatants. Archiving open-source casualty reports, and military claims by nations.

An Iraqi man rushes his son for medical treatment during the Battle of Mosul. (Maranie R. Staab)

Our monitoring of civilian harm

Monitor

Airwars closely monitors conflicts, to help improve understanding of how recent wars have impacted on civilians. Our regional researchers track local civilian harm allegations from news outlets and social media, with a present focus on Iraq, Syria and Libya. Other sources we monitor include international and local civic society groups; military reporting; and claims by non-state actors. Together, our monitoring helps reveal what civilians themselves are experiencing during times of war.

Assess

Airwars assesses each civilian harm incident to determine who was allegedly killed or injured, and by which belligerent. As a transparency organisation, we archive every known source, including associated imagery. All assessments are published in our growing civilian casualties database, alongside the names of thousands of reported victims. Since we began in 2014, we have tracked and assessed tens of thousands of reported civilian deaths in conflicts.

Engage

Our primary aim at Airwars is to help reduce harm to civilians. We do this both by improving public knowledge of how battlefield casualties occur; and by working where we can with militaries – helping them to improve their own understanding and admission of where, when and how civilians are harmed. Our advocacy team also engages with politicians and with broader civic society, to ensure civilian harm issues are given the highest priority.

Investigate

Airwars works closely with journalists and researchers in the field - helping them to better identify reported civilian harm claims. And we also incorporate their findings into our own research - ensuring we build up as comprehensive a picture of battlefield casualties as we can. Through partnerships with major news organisations, our investigators have also published numerous in-depth reports on civilian harm - which in turn can help change public and political understanding.

Victim in focus

Mohammad Abd Al Hameed Jahjah likely died alongside his sister, mother and father when the house they were in was destroyed. The incident was reported by multiple local sources that included eyewitness accounts. CENTCOM maintains that the US-led Coalition was not responsible for the deaths, claiming the images were from an earlier Syrian Regime attack.

Incident date

LOCATION

Summary

Civilian harm claims in Syria against both Russia and the US-led Coalition continued between March 11th-17th. Local media and monitors reported 9 civilian harm allegations against Russia, and 3 civilian harm incidents alleged against the US-led Coalition: https://t.co/RlycYqBcq1pic.twitter.com/BT86YHJcZZ

Join the @StimsonCenter livestream now from Washington DC, where a great panel is discussing the US armed drone and targeted killing programme - in particular focusing on @Amnesty's major new Somalia report: https://t.co/tD5a1s3Ucj

Streaming live now via Berlin: @UNCoISyria's James Rodehaver is talking about the UN Commission's investigation of the al Mansoura, Syria mass casualty event, in which at least 150 civilians died in a Coalition strike 2 years ago today: https://t.co/da4sdxn3RE